St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-01
THE CAREER OF AN ITEM.
How a Piece Of News Travels
Over the Country.

Over the Country.
The INITIATED wonder how it is posi-
BILE that an item of news occurring 500
miles away-or even in San Francisco
or New York-at 10 or IL o'clock at
night and oftentimes later-can be
printed in their GLOBE, in accurate and
Ineligible shape, ON the following
morning. The experience of one item
by telegraph will give the reader an
idea of how this is done, and this will
serve to show the process through which
all of them go. A murder has been
committed, we will say, at Helena,
Mont. The special correspondent there
the GLOBE has one at every principal
point sets to work to as
certain the facts. He has instructions
to send by telegraph all that is import
ant or of interdst in any occurrence,
and if he is not trained journalist al
ready he soon acquires the faculty of
knowing by instinct what to send and
what not to send. In all cases, however,
he must be careful that his statements
can be verified. OF course, he has to
work rapidly, and is often compelled to
accept a good deal of hearSay testi-
mony, but it is very seldom that good
reporter is imposed upon or makes any
ScIlOuS itS SOOIl GtS llc Gail DOSSl-
bly, do so he repairs to the telegraph
Office and writes out his copy and files
it, the operator sending it away a sheet
at time-aS fast as it is written-if
there is no time to spare. The operator
at Helena is placed in direct communi-
cation with
THE SPECIAL GLOBE OPERATOR,
in the home office, so that" there is no
delay in delivery by messenger boys.
AS fast as the sheet is filled the opera
| tor turns it over to the telegraph editor.
The latter readily gets it into shape for
| the printer, filling in words that have
been omitted, writing the heads and
| sub-headS, and making the matter in
telligble where it is lacking in this re-
spect. This requires very little time. 1t
is hurried into the copy box and sent up
to the floor above, where it falls into the
hands of the copy cutter. He cuts it up
into small pieces or ''takes," numbered
cOnsecutively, so that it can be set up
rapidly by the compOsitorS. The latter
soon have it in type, emptying their
takes on ''galleys," according to num-
Der. When the matter is set up the
takes are pushed up together and the
| galley boy takes proof. The proof
reader then reads the matter over and
marks the errors. Then it is sent out
| IOl COIlCCbloli w OiiO iipOSltOlS VIII
made the errors each take having the
cOmpositor's number over it on what is
called ''slug." Then the second proof
is taken of it, called revise, which is
examined by the proof reader to see if
all the errors have been corrected; if
there are errors the proof is sent back
again for correction. The ''devil' then
takes an extra proof for the managing
or night editor, through whose hands
everything must go. He may cut it
down or make some changes. If he
does the marked proof is sent back for
correction. If it is badly disfgured by
marks another revise is taken. If this
last proof is clean the galley of type is
taken to the makeup stone and lifted
into the form by the foreman, the page
being closed and sent to the press-room
as soon as it is filed. This looks like a
slow and tedious process, but very often
it happens that an item sent from a
place 500 miles away is in the form and
ready to print within an hour after it
was filed there.